Muscat: Sultan Qaboos Bin Saeed Tuesday received India’s Minister for State for Minority and Corporate Affairs, Salman Khurshid, at Bait Al Birka.
The minister is in Oman as a Special Representative of the Prime Minister of India. Khurshid conveyed to Sultan Qaboos greetings and congratulations of the Indian Prime Minister and the Government of India on the occasion of Oman’s 40th National Day celebrations.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wished the Omani leader good health, happiness and long life. He also wished further progress and prosperity for the Sultanate under the wise leadership of Sultan Qaboos.
Khurshid, whose visit to Oman, coincided with the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Oman, also called on Shaikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Al Salmi, Minister of Awqaf and Religious Affairs.
Later the Indian minister told media at the Indian Embassy that the Omni Minister for Awqaf and Religious Affairs had informed him that the Omani government had decided in principle to give permission for a Gurudwara (worship place for Sikhs) and another temple in Oman.
“Details have to be worked out about building these places of worships,” he said.
There are already two temples in Muscat and a Gurudwara where Hindus and Sikhs worship.
Interestingly, earlier this month US State Department had noted religious tolerance shown in Oman in its US State Department in an annual International Religious Freedom Report.
The Indian minister also interacted with the prominent members of the Indian community at a function jointly held by the Indian embassy and Indian Social Club at the Indian embassy premises late on Monday night.
His talks with Maqbool Bin Ali Bin Sultan, Oman’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, involved ways to strengthen collaborations between the two countries in food, education and IT sectors. They also discussed space, renewable energy and nuclear energy cooperation.
